Cameron County Community: Social and Epidemiological Assessment
Date
2018-04-26
Authors
Gonzalez, Sarah
Limon, Alberto
Davila, Dominique
McAnamey, Ashley
Boyd, Kristin
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Abstract
Introduction: This assessment sought to determine the behavioral, environmental, and health issues that impact overall quality of life in Cameron County.
Methods: The Precede-Proceed model was used to frame the assessment process. Phases of this model included the social assessment and the epidemiological phase. Data was collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Texas Health Data, and Healthy People 2020 for national goals and objectives. A prioritization matrix was incorporated to determine what health problems were most modifiable and important.
Results: Major health concerns identified among Cameron County residents were diabetes, nephritis, and chronic liver disease. Diabetes rates were remarkably high compared to the other morbidity factors. Diabetes had the biggest rate difference between the county and state mortality rates. The age adjusted rate for the county and state was taken from the most recent data available (2015) and represented a rate per 100,000 population. Cameron County’s diabetes rate was 34.1 and Texas’ rate was 21.3. For nephritis, Cameron County’s rate was 18.8 and 16.4 for Texas. Finally, chronic liver disease was Cameron County’s third leading cause of death at a rate of 18.4 and Texas had a rate of 13.8. Diabetes was the only cause that increased in rate from 28.5 to 34.1.
Conclusion: The prioritized need for health improvement in Cameron County is diabetes. Factors contributing to this condition may be more easily modified for residents. Programs should be created for both prevention and appropriate management of diabetes.
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Keywords
diabetes, program, evaluation, Cameron County, implementation, quality of life
Citation
Gonzalez, S., Limon, A., Davila, D., McAnarney, A., & Boyd, K. (2018). Cameron County community: Social and epidemiological assessment. Poster presented at the Undergraduate Research Conference and Honors Thesis Forum, San Marcos, TX.